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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Blogging and social media have introduced me to a lot of people I never would’ve come into contact with otherwise. My series of posts for NZ Music Month provided a perfect example of that, one that has a new development.One of the bands I featured last May was Static Era because I chatted on Twitter with lead singer, Emma G. After that, we became Facebook friends, and I found out she shares some of the most interesting things I see on Facebook: Things that are actually funny (not fake funny), interesting, or even inspiring. So, she’s become a part of my extended social media circle.

A couple days ago, she shared a link to their latest music video (above), for their song, “Addicted to a Dream”, the third single from Dare To Fail. Emma’s vocals are strong as ever, and the sound is epic, but the song explores some really dark themes—once again their song’s story telling is compelling, and I think the video works very well with the song.Band member Chris Yong said on Google+:

I'm really proud of this video because it's different, and it's different for a reason.

Firstly, I don't feature in it at all and that's because this video is about the story within it.

Secondly, some serious thought went into this video to give it meaning. It's not a pop video, it's a bit dark in places and that's intentional. This country has some dark issues that people don't openly talk about and you never know who is experiencing what behind closed doors.

Last but not least, remember to look after one another. You may never know that just being a decent person, listening and being there for someone helped a person through a difficult time, but to them it made all the difference.

The group has also put out a “Behind the Scenes” video that talks a bit more about how the song and video came to be. That’s a nice addition.

I’ve said many times that I especially like music and music videos that carry a message or that explore deeper themes (and, of course, I like empty entertainment, too—depends on my mood, maybe). So, even though Static Era is harder rock than I generally listen to, I quite like this song and video.

And I know about it—and them—because of social media—no wonder I find value in it.